From Our Files

April archives

In 1888, King Kalakaua issued a royal charter, commissioning a magazine. Then titled Paradise of the Pacific, this publication became HONOLULU Magazine, making it the oldest magazine west of the Mississippi.

1929

“In the two years that the academy has been open, it has established itself in the life of the community,” observes Paradise of the Pacific. As Anna Rice Cooke’s personal art collection of art grew, she established an art academy in 1927. First, the Cooke home was demolished to make way for the art building. Cooke, her daughter, her daughter-in-law and an art teacher obtained a charter for the academy in 1922, establishing it as a place for “schools to borrow certain exhibits and books and have classes come to the academy to study exhibits.” Today, the academy’s permanent collection amounts to more than 50,000 pieces.

1934

Paradise of the Pacific writer Henry E. Dougherty observes the metropolis of Honolulu, down Fort, Bishop and South Hotel streets. “Honolulu does not cover as much acreage as some cities, but within the confines of its 100 or more blocks is enacted one of the strangest social and business dramas in all the world.” The melting pot of Honolulu’s cultures are reflected in the shops, music houses, restaurants and modern theaters “dedicated to the talkies.” These streets were revitalized beginning in 1999, but still house a hodgepodge of businesses, including HONOLULU Magazine on Bishop Street.

1954

“Fabrics … did a million and a half dollars worth of business in 1954 [$12 million in 2009 dollars],” reports Paradise of the Pacific. The clothing designers, Saheen’s of Honolulu and Surf ’n Sand Hand Prints were popular that year, created with Pacific-themed motifs. The clothes were distributed in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. The company already begun designs for “Cruise Season, ’55 … bold and brilliant anywhere under a kindly sun.” Aloha prints may now not hold the same allure on the Mainland: in October 2008, Hilo Hattie filed bankruptcy after a California company purchased it three months earlier.